Inauspicious. A good word for the public hearing last week that launched Oak Park’s search for a village manager. Two people, apparently mute, turned out for this extravaganza in the council chambers. Designed to gather citizen input on just what kind of manager Oak Park wants, the meeting was a total dud. Two citizens arrived. Neither chose to speak and the meeting unraveled from there.
This tells us something. We are not yet clear what. A lack of interest. A lack of planning. A lack of trust. Something’s lacking when opinionated Oak Park goes silent.